By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Just 2.7 seconds.
First-year Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales has been harping on Bryce Young all offseason to get the ball out of his hands — or break the pocket and extend the play if nothing is available — within that time frame.
It’s something that will require quick decision-making skills from the second-year quarterback, who ranked near the bottom of league last year when it came to his release time.
But Canales believes it will play to Young’s strengths and help him turn the corner after a disappointing rookie season in which he went 2-14 as a starter, threw for fewer than 180 yards per game and had nearly as many interceptions (10) as touchdown passes (11).
“For our concepts, if you kind of get more specific to what we’re trying to do, the ball gets to the checkdown in about 2.7, definitely under 3,″ Canales first said of his plans back at the NFL combine. “Bryce better be really moving towards the line of scrimmage, ready to take off, checking it down.″
In Canales’ mind, 2.7 seconds is enough time for Young to get through his first two reads in his progression, as well as his checkdown.
Admittedly, some plays involving play action and deep throws may take longer, but as a general philosophy the Panthers want Young operating with an internal alarm going off in his head.
That’s in part to avoid a year like 2023 when the No. 1 overall pick was sacked 62 times in 16 starts — nearly four times per game.
There were a variety of reasons for that.
Sometimes Young held on to the ball too long. Other times receivers failed to get open because they were unable to break press coverage or their routes took too long to develop. More often than not though, it was the offensive line failing to protect Young.
The Panthers tried to help Young this offseason by putting different players around him.
New general manager Dan Morgan spent a combined $150 million on free agent guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis, traded for veteran wide receiver Diontae Johnson and selected wide receiver Xavier Legette with the 32nd pick in the first round of the draft.
Panthers veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen believes Canales’ quick-hitting approach, which paved the way for 4,000-yard passing seasons by Geno Smith in Seattle and Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay, suits Young’s game perfectly.
He calls Young a “quick processor.”
“Bryce has the ability to read the coverage, get the ball out and find guys and give them an opportunity to make plays fast,” Thielen said. “He has that unique ability to know where to go with the ball. I think this, being his second year, he has been able to slow down and be confident in our offensive line and confident in the playmakers around him. He isn’t trying to put everything on his own shoulders.”
Young’s first full test in the new offensive system comes Sunday when the Panthers meet the New Orleans Saints in the Superdome.
It was the site of one of Young’s worst games as a rookie. He went 13 of 36 for 137 yards and was sacked four times in a 28-6 loss.
Still, Saints defensive back Tyrann Mathieu said Young is a quarterback with tremendous pocket awareness and the defense has to be aware of his ability to extend plays.
“(Patrick) Mahomes has got good pocket presence. Josh Allen does, too. But he’s up there with them as far as just like pocket presence,” Mathieu. “He can bob and weave, and the ball’s still ready to come out. And he’s a runner, too. He’s underrated in that department. I know his coach probably tells him, ‘Don’t run,’ because he’s like 160 pounds, but he’s an underrated scrambler. He definitely stresses you for sure.”
To say Young’s development as a QB if vital to the Panthers organizational success is an understatement. Carolina traded four draft picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore to move up eight spots in the draft last year to select Young, so the investment level is high and failure is not an option.
The even-keeled Young seems determined to put 2023 behind him, saying he was able to step away and “regroup” after last season.
“It was a good opportunity to go back to being a student again,” Young said. “It was a good to have a reset.”
Despite the struggles, Young said he is “super grateful” for what he went through last season.
He believes it will serve him well in the long run.
“Even during it, through all of the challenges,” Young said. “I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason. It wasn’t something that was hard to get through for me. I’ve had good years and bad years throughout my life from a football standpoint, and each year you kind of get used to turning the page — good, bad or indifferent.”
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AP Sports Writer Brett Martel contributed to this report.
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